Sometimes it is our duty to ourselves to look at the really tough topics. One of those would be “Free Will.” Denying the fact that we have been given a free will by God puts our actions and responsibilities in God’s hands instead of our own. This can be used as a crutch to claim that “it’s not my fault.” One of our natural instincts as humans is to blame someone other than ourselves for our own mistake. But in the end, this thought pattern will never protect us from reality.
Free will is obvious right from the beginning of mankind. Genesis 2:16-17 (KJV) “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Pretty cut and dry, right?
Next, Genesis 3:6 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” A free choice made!
Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.”
God called out, “Where are you?” Adam admitted he had hidden himself because he was naked. God’s response was, “How did you know you were naked? Did you eat of the tree? Adam immediately blamed God, “The woman You gave me made me eat.” Adam didn’t blame the woman, he blamed God. Then the woman blamed the serpent.
This was not only the beginning of dire results from “Free Choice” but the beginning of blaming others for our wrong choices. Our disobedience brought a hard life down on our heads. We were thrown out of the presence of God. The woman would be ruled by her husband. The man would work hard all the days of his life trying to get food from the ground that was now cursed. And they would die and return to the dust from which they were formed. Paradise was over!
We immediately passed into the realm of judgment and the settlement of penalties for our debt of rebellion incurred. The relationship with the Lord God broken by us with no excuses accepted. That’s what we call a “Reckoning.” Not a pretty picture, is it?
Is there any hope?
Colossians 1:19-23 (ESV) “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast…”
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 (ESV) “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them…”
Yes there is hope, and not only hope but a way to peace and relationship with God again. But only through Christ. To reconcile means to make friendly once more, or to bring back into harmony. We have been granted another free choice to make. Will we choose Christ as Lord, and Savior, and Reconciler or will we continue to exercise our free will to do whatever we want?
I see the relationship with God is an all or nothing choice. We cannot hang in the middle. We cannot straddle the fence. Will you choose to be just another Adam or Eve being rebellious or will you choose the wonder of life that Christ offers? Reckoning or Reconciliation, the choice is yours.
What say you?
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